The Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Complete

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"Cardinal Caprara is charged by his Excellency Cardinal Gonsalvi,
Secretary of State of His Holiness, to remit to M. Garnerin a copy
of a letter dated Dec. 18. He hastens to send it, and also to add a
copy of the note which accompanied it. The cardinal also takes this
occasion to assure Monsieur Garnerin of his highest esteem."

To this letter was added a translation of the report made to the
cardinal, secretary of state at Rome, by the Duke of Mondragone, and
dated from Anguillora, near Rome, Dec. 18:

"Yesterday evening about twenty-four o'clock there passed through
the air a globe of astonishing size, which fell upon Lake Bracciano,
and had the appearance of a house. Boatmen were sent to bring it to
land; but they were not able to do so, as a high wind prevailed,
accompanied by snow. This morning early they succeeded in bringing
it ashore. This globe is of oiled silk, covered with netting, and
the wire gallery is a little broken. It seems to have been lighted
by lamps and colored lanterns, of which much debris remains.
Attached to the globe was found the following notice." (Which is
given above).

Thus we see that this balloon, which left Paris at seven o'clock on the
evening of Dec. 16, had fallen next day, the 17th, near Rome, at
twenty-four o'clock, that is to say, at sunset. It had crossed France,
the Alps, etc., and passed over a space of more than three hundred
leagues in twenty-two hours, its rate of speed being then fifteen
leagues (45 miles) per hour; and, what renders this still more
remarkable, is the fact that its weight was increased by decorations
weighing five hundred pounds.

An account of the former trips of this balloon will not be without
interest. Its first ascension was made in the presence of their Prussian
Majesties and the whole court, upon which occasion it carried M.
Garnerin, his wife, and M. Gaertner, and descended upon the frontiers of
Saxony.

The second ascension was at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the
Emperor, the two Empresses, and the court, carrying Monsieur and Madame
Garnerin; and it fell a short distance off in a marsh. This was the
first balloon ascension ever seen in Russia.

The third trial was also at St. Petersburg, in the presence of the
imperial family. M. Garnerin ascended, accompanied by General Suolf;
and the two travelers were transported across the Gulf of Friedland in
three-quarters of an hour, and descended at Krasnoe-selo, twenty-five
versts from St. Petersburg. The fourth trial took place at Moscow, and
Garnerin ascended more than four thousand toises [24,000 ft.] He had
many harrowing experiences, and at the end of seven hours descended
three hundred and thirty versts [200 miles] from Moscow, in the
neighborhood of the old frontiers of Russia. This same balloon was
again used at the ascension which Madame Garnerin made at Moscow with
Madame Toucheninolf, in the midst of a frightful storm, and amid flashes
of lightning which killed three men within three hundred paces of the
balloon, at the very instant of the ascension. These ladies descended
without accident twenty-one versts from Moscow.

The city of Paris gave a gratuity of six hundred francs to the boatmen
who had drawn out of Lake Bracciano the balloon, which was brought back
to Paris, and placed in the museum of the Hotel de Ville.

I was a witness that same day of the kindness with which the Emperor
received the petition of a poor woman, a notary's wife, I believe, whose
husband had been condemned on account of some crime, I know not what, to
a long imprisonment. As the carriage of their Imperial Majesties passed
before the Palais-Royal, two women, one already old, the other sixteen or
seventeen years of age, sprang to the door, crying, "Pardon for my
husband, pardon for my father."

The Emperor immediately, in a loud tone, gave the order to stop his
carriage, and held out his hand for the petition which the older of the
two women would give to no one but him, at the same time consoling her
with kind words, and showing a most touching interest lest she might be
hurt by the horses of the marshals of the empire, who were on each side
of the carriage. While this kindness of his august brother was exciting
to the highest pitch the enthusiasm and sensibilities of the witnesses of
this scene, Prince Louis, seated on the front seat of the carriage, also
leaned out, trying to reassure the trembling young girl, and urging her
to comfort her mother, and count with certainty on the Emperor's
favorable consideration. The mother and daughter, overcome by their
emotion, could make no reply; and as the cortege passed on, I saw the
former on the point of falling in a swoon. She was carried into a
neighboring house, where she revived, and with her daughter shed tears of
gratitude and joy.

The Corps Legislatif had decreed that a statue, in white marble, should
be erected to the Emperor in their assembly hall, to commemorate the
completion of the Civil Code. On the day of the unveiling of this
monument, her Majesty the Empress, the princes Joseph, Louis, Borghese,
Bacciochi, and their wives, with other members of the imperial family,
deputations of the principal orders of the state, the diplomatic corps,
and many foreigners of distinction, the marshals of the empire, and a
considerable number of general officers, assembled at seven o'clock in
the evening at the palace of the Legislative Corps.

As the Empress appeared in the hall, the entire assembly rose, and a band
of music, stationed in the neighboring stand, rendered the well-known
chorus from Gluck, "How many charms! What majesty!" Scarcely had the
first strains of this chorus been heard than each one was struck with the
happy coincidence, and applause burst forth from all sides.

By invitation of the president, Marshals Murat and Massena unveiled the
statue; and all eyes were fixed on this image of the Emperor, his brows
encircled with a crown of laurel, and entwined with oak and olive leaves.
When silence had succeeded to the acclamations excited by this sight,
M. de Vaublanc mounted the tribune, and pronounced a discourse, which was
loudly applauded in the assembly, whose sentiments it faithfully
expressed.

"Gentlemen," said the orator, "you have celebrated the completion of the
Civil Code of France by an act of admiration and of gratitude; you have
awarded a statue to the illustrious prince whose firmness and
perseverance have led to the completion of that grand work, while at the
same time his vast intelligence has shed a most glorious light over this
noble department of human institutions. First Consul then, Emperor of
the French to-day, he appears in the temple of the laws, his head adorned
with a triumphal crown as victory has so often adorned it, while
foretelling that this should change to the diadem of kings, and covered
with the imperial mantle, noble attribute of the highest of dignities.

"Doubtless, on this solemn day, in presence of the princes and the great
of the state, before the august person whom the Empire honors for her
beautiful character even more than for the high rank of which her virtues
render her so worthy, in this glorious fete in which we would reunite all
France, you will permit my feeble voice to be raised a moment, and to
recall to you by what immortal actions Napoleon entered upon this
wonderful career of power and honor.

"If praise corrupts weak minds, it is the nourishment of great souls;
and the grand deeds of heroes are ties which bind them to their country.
To recapitulate them is to say that we expect from them a combination of
those grand thoughts, those generous sentiments, those glorious deeds, so
nobly rewarded by the admiration and gratitude of the public.

"Victorious in the three quarters of the world, peacemaker of Europe,
legislator of France, having bestowed and added provinces to the Empire,
does not this glorious record suffice to render him worthy at one and the
same time both of this august title of Emperor of the French, and this
monument erected in the temple of the laws? And yet I would wish to make
you forget these brilliant recollections which I have just recalled.
With a stronger voice than that which sounded his praises, I would say to
you: erase from your minds this glory of the legislator, this glory of
the warrior, and say to yourselves, before the 18th Brumaire, when fatal
laws were promulgated, and when the destructive principles proclaimed
anew were already dragging along men and things with a rapidity which it
would soon have been impossible to arrest--who appeared suddenly like a
beneficent star, who came to abrogate these laws, who filled up the
half-open abyss? You have survived, each one of you, through those
threatening scenes; you live, and you owe it to him whose image you now
behold. You, who were miserable outlaws, have returned, you breathe
again the gentle air of your native land, you embrace your children, your
wives, your friends; and you owe it to this great man. I speak no longer
of his glory, I no longer bear witness to that; but I invoke humanity on
the one side, gratitude on the other; and I demand of you, to whom do you
owe a happiness so great so extraordinary, so unexpected? . . . And
you, each and all, reply with me--to the great man whose image we
behold."

The president repeated in his turn a similar eulogium, in very similar
terms; and few persons then dreamed of thinking these praises
exaggerated, though their opinions have perhaps changed since.

After the ceremony the Empress, on the arm of the president, passed into
the hall of conference, where her Majesty's table had been prepared under
a magnificent dais of crimson silk, and covers for nearly three hundred
guests had been laid by the caterer Robert, in the different halls of the
palace. To the dinner succeeded a brilliant ball. The most remarkable
thing in this fete was the indescribable luxury of flowers and shrubs,
which must doubtless have been collected at great expense, owing to the
severity of the winter. The halls of Lucrece and of La Reunion, in which
the dancing quadrilles were formed, resembled an immense parterre of
roses, laurel, lilac, jonquils, lilies, and jessamine.




CHAPTER XXIII.

It was the 2d of January, 1805, exactly a month after the coronation,
that I formed with the eldest daughter of M. Charvet a union which has
been, and will I trust ever be, the greatest happiness of my life. I
promised the reader to say very little of myself; and, in fact, how could
he be interested in any details of my own private life which did not
throw additional light upon the character of the great man about whom I
have undertaken to write? Nevertheless, I will ask permission to return
for a little while to this, the most interesting of all periods to me,
and which exerted such an influence upon my whole life. Surely he who
recalls and relates his souvenirs is not forbidden to attach some
importance to those which most nearly concern himself. Moreover, even in
the most personal events of my life, there were instances in which their
Majesties took a part, and which, from that fact, are of importance in
enabling the reader to form a correct estimate of the characters of both
the Emperor and the Empress.

My wife's mother had been presented to Madame Bonaparte during the first
campaign in Italy, and she had been pleased with her; for Madame
Bonaparte, who was so perfectly good, had, in her own experience, also
endured trials, and knew how to sympathize with the sorrows of others.

She promised to interest the General in the fate of my father-in-law, who
had just lost his place in the treasury. During this time Madame Charvet
was in correspondence with a friend of her husband, who was, I think, the
courier of General Bonaparte; and the latter having opened and read these
letters addressed to his courier, inquired who was this young woman that
wrote such interesting and intelligent letters, and Madame Charvet well
deserved this double praise. My father-in-law's friend, while replying
to the question of the General-in-chief, took occasion to relate the
misfortunes of the family, and the General remarked that, on his return
to Paris, he wished to meet M. and Madame Charvet; in consequence of
which they were presented to him, and Madame Bonaparte rejoiced to learn
that her protegees had also become those of her husband. It had been
decided that M. Charvet should follow the General to Egypt; but when my
father-in-law arrived at Toulon, Madame Bonaparte requested that he
should accompany her to the waters of Plombieres. I have previously
related the accident which occurred at Plombieres, and that M. Charvet
was sent to Saint-Germain to bring Mademoiselle Hortense from the
boarding-school to her mother. On his return to Paris, M. Charvet
searched through all the suburbs to find a country-seat, as the General
had charged his wife to purchase one during his absence.

When Madame Bonaparte decided on Malmaison, M. Charvet, his wife, and
their three children were installed in this charming residence.

My father-in-law was very faithful to the interests of these benefactors
of his family, and Madame Charvet often acted as private secretary to
Madame Bonaparte.

Mademoiselle Louise, who became my wife, and Mademoiselle Zoe, her
younger sister, were favorites of Madame Bonaparte, especially the
latter, who passed more time than Louise at Malmaison. The condescension
of their noble protectress had rendered this child so familiar, that she
said thou habitually to Madame Bonaparte. One day she said to her, "Thou
art happy. Thou hast no mamma to scold thee when thou tearest thy
dresses."

During one of the campaigns that I made while in the service of the
Emperor, I wrote to my wife, inquiring about the life that her sister led
at Malmaison. In her answer, among other things, she said (I copy a
passage from one of her letters): "Sometimes we take part in performances
such as I had never dreamed of. For instance, one evening the saloon was
divided in half by a gauze curtain, behind which was a bed arranged in
Greek style, on which a man lay asleep, clothed in long white drapery.
Near the sleeper Madame Bonaparte and the other ladies beat in unison
(not in perfect accord, however) on bronze vases, making, as you may
imagine, a terrible kind of music. During this charivari, one of the
gentlemen held me around the waist, and raised me from the ground, while
I shook my arms and legs in time to the music. The concert of these
ladies awoke the sleeper, who stared wildly at me, frightened at my
gestures, then sprang up and ran with all his might, followed by my
brother, who crept on all fours, representing a dog, I think, which
belonged to this strange person. As I was then a mere child, I have only
a confused idea of all this; but the society of Madame Bonaparte seemed
to be much occupied with similar amusements."

When the First Consul went to live at Saint-Cloud, he expressed his high
opinion of my father-in-law in the most flattering manner, and made him
concierge of the chateau, which was a confidential position, the duties
and responsibilities of which were considerable.

M. Charvet was charged with organizing the household; and, by orders of
the First Consul, he selected from among the old servants of the queen
those to whom he gave places as porters, scrubbers, and grooms of the
chateau, and he gave pensions to those unable to work.

When the chateau took fire in 1802, as I have related previously, Madame
Charvet, being several months pregnant, was terribly frightened; and as
it was not thought best to bleed her, she became very ill, and died at
the age of thirty years. Louise had been at a boarding-school for
several years; but her father now brought her home to keep house for him,
though she was then only twelve years old. One of her friends has kindly
allowed me to see a letter which Louise addressed to her a short time
after our marriage, and from which I have made the following extracts:

"On my return from boarding-school I went to see her Majesty the
Empress (then Madame Bonaparte) at the Tuileries. I was in deep
mourning. She took me on her knee, and tried to console me, saying
that she would be a mother to me, and would find me a husband. I
wept, and said that I did not wish to marry. Not at present,'
replied her Majesty, I but that will come; be sure of it. I was,
however, by no means persuaded that this would be the case. She
caressed me a while longer, and I withdrew. When the First Consul
was at Saint-Cloud, all the chiefs of the different departments of
the household service assembled in the apartments of my father, who
was the most popular, as well as the eldest, member of the
household. M. Constant, who had seen me as a child at Malmaison,
found me sufficiently attractive at Saint-Cloud to ask me of my
father, subject to the approval of their Majesties; and it was
decided that we should be married after the coronation. I was
fourteen years old fifteen days after our marriage.

"Both my sister and I are always received with extreme kindness by
her Majesty the Empress; and whenever, for fear of annoying her, we
let some time pass without going to see her, she complains of it to
my father. She sometimes admits us to her morning toilet, which is
conducted in our presence, and to which are admitted in her
apartments only her women; and a few persons of her household, who,
like us, count among their happiest moments those in which they can
thus behold this adored princess. The conversations are almost
always delightful, and her Majesty frequently relates anecdotes
which a word from one or another of us recalls to her."

Her Majesty the Empress had promised Louise a dowry; but the money which
she intended for that she spent otherwise, and consequently my wife had
only a few jewels of little value and two or three pieces of stuff.

M. Charvet was too refined to recall this promise to her Majesty's
recollection. However, that was the only way to get anything from her;
for she knew no better how to economize than how to refuse. The Emperor
asked me a short time after my marriage what the Empress had given my
wife, and on my reply showed the greatest possible vexation; no doubt
because the sum that had been demanded of him for Louise's dowry had been
spent otherwise. His Majesty the Emperor had the goodness, while on this
subject, to assure me that he himself would hereafter look after my
interests, and that he was well satisfied with my services, and would
prove it to me.

I have said above that my wife's younger sister was the favorite of her
Majesty the Empress; and yet she received on her marriage no richer dowry
than Louise, nevertheless, the Empress asked to have my sister-in-law's
husband presented to her, and said to him in the most maternal tone,
"Monsieur, I recommend my daughter to you, and I entreat you to make her
happy. She deserves it, and I earnestly hope that you know how to
appreciate her!" When my sister-in-law, fleeing from Compiegne, in 1814,
went with her husband's mother to Evreux for her confinement, the Empress
sent by her first valet de chambre every thing necessary for a young
woman in that condition, and, even reproached her with not having come to
Navarre.

My sister-in-law had been reared in the same boarding-school as
Mademoiselle Josephine Tallien, god-daughter of the Empress, who has
since married M. Pelet de la Lozere, and another daughter of Madame
Tallien, Mademoiselle Clemence Cabarus. The school was conducted by
Madame Vigogne, widow of the colonel of that name, and an old friend of
the Empress, who had advised her to take a boarding-school, and promised
to procure for her as many pupils as she could. This institution
prospered under the direction of this lady, who was distinguished for her
intelligence and culture; and she frequently brought to the Empress these
protegees, with other young persons who by good conduct had earned this
reward; and this was made a powerful means of exciting the emulation of
these children, whom her Majesty overwhelmed with caresses, and presented
with little gifts.

One morning just as Madame Vigogne was about to visit the Empress, and
was descending the staircase to enter her carriage, she heard piercing
cries in one of the schoolrooms, and, hastening to the spot, saw a young
girl with her clothing on fire. With a presence of mind worthy of a
mother, Madame Vigogne wrapped her pupil in the long train of her dress,
and thus extinguished the flames, not, however, until the hands of the
courageous instructress had been most painfully burned. She made the
visit to her Majesty in this condition, and related to her the sad
accident which had occurred; while her Majesty, who was easily moved by
everything noble and generous, overwhelmed her with praises for her
courage, and was so deeply touched that she wept with admiration, and
ordered, her private physician to give his best services to Madame
Vigogne and her young pupil.




CHAPTER XXIV.

The Empress Josephine was of medium height, with an exquisite figure; and
in all her movements there was an airiness and grace which gave to her
walk something ethereal, without detracting from the majesty of the
sovereign. Her expressive countenance portrayed all the emotions of her
soul, while retaining the charming sweetness which was its ruling
expression. In pleasure, as in grief, she was beautiful, and even
against your will you would smile when she smiled; if she was sad, you
would be also. Never did a woman justify better than she the expression
that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Hers were of a deep blue, and
nearly always half closed by her long lids, which were slightly arched,
and fringed with the most beautiful lashes in the world; in regarding her
you felt yourself drawn to her by an irresistible power. It must have
been difficult for the Empress to give severity to that seductive look;
but she could do this, and well knew how to render it imposing when
necessary. Her hair was very beautiful, long and silken, its nut-brown
tint contrasting exquisitely with the dazzling whiteness of her fine
fresh complexion. At the commencement of her supreme power, the Empress
still liked to adorn her head in the morning with a red madras
handkerchief, which gave her a most piquant Creole air, and rendered her
still more charming.

But what more than all else constituted the inexpressible charm of the
Empress's presence were the ravishing tones of her voice. How many times
have I, like many others, stopped suddenly on hearing that voice; simply
to enjoy the pleasure of listening to it. It cannot perhaps be said that
the Empress was a strictly beautiful woman; but her lovely countenance,
expressing sweetness and good nature, and the angelic grace diffused
around her person, made her the most attractive of women.

During her stay at Saint-Cloud, the Empress rose habitually at nine
o'clock, and made her first toilet, which lasted till ten; then she
passed into a saloon, where she found assembled those persons who had
solicited and obtained the favor of an audience; and sometimes also at
this hour, and in the same saloon, her Majesty received her tradespeople;
and at eleven o'clock, when the Emperor was absent, she breakfasted with
her first lady of honor and a few others. Madame de la Rochefoucauld,
first lady of honor to the Empress, was a hunchback, and so small that it
was necessary, when she was to have a place at the table, to heighten the
seat of her chair by another very thick cushion made of violet satin.
Madame de la Rochefoucauld knew well how to efface, by means of her
bright and sparkling, though somewhat caustic wit, her striking elegance,
and her exquisite court manners, any unpleasant impression which might be
made by her physical deformity.

Before breakfast the Empress had a game of billiards; or, when the
weather was good, she walked in the gardens or in the inclosed park,
which recreation lasted only a short while, and her Majesty soon returned
to her apartments, and occupied herself with embroidery, while talking
with her ladies, like herself, occupied with some kind of needlework.
When it happened that they were not interrupted by visits, between two
and three o'clock in the afternoon the Empress took a drive in an open
barouche; and on her return from this the grand toilet took place, at
which the Emperor was sometimes present.

Now and then, also, his Majesty surprised the Empress in her saloon; and
we were sure to find him, on those occasions, amusing, amiable, and in
fine spirits.

At six o'clock dinner was served; this the Emperor frequently forgot, and
delayed it indefinitely, in consequence of which dinner was more than
once eaten at nine or ten o'clock in the evening. Their Majesties dined
together alone, or in the company of a few invited guests, princes of the
imperial family, or ministers, after which there was a concert,
reception, or the theater; and at midnight every one retired except the
Empress, who greatly enjoyed sitting up late, and then played backgammon
with one of the chamberlains. The Count de Beaumont was thus honored
most frequently.